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Dave Rennie named his first Wallabies squad of the winter ahead of Wednesday’s Test against France in Brisbane, with Waratahs number nine Jake Gordon fighting back from a serious knee injury to make the side.
Gordon will partner Noah Lolesio in the halves, with the youngster getting the nod after James O’Connor failed to overcome a groin strain.
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Rennie fronted a media conference soon after the team was announced to discuss some of the big selection calls he faced. This is how he reacted to the main talking points.
Noah’s arc: Why he went with Lolesio over Rebels’ Reece Hodge
“James (O’Connor) struggled to respond quickly so we were pretty clear from Thursday that he wouldn’t make it,” Rennie said.
“We are gearing him up to see if he can come around in time for the second Test.
“I’m very happy with Noah, he’s tracked really well. Hodgey just hasn’t played any footy. He’s missed the last three months and we need to get some more footy into him. He’s worked really hard but was a little bit scratchy.”
Lolesio 21, had a sobering debut last year in the 43-5 loss to the All Blacks at Stadium Australia but Rennie said his confidence was undiminished.
“He’s a confident kid,”
“He’s prepared to boss the big boys around. He’s got a full Super Rugby season behind him now and last year he missed an eight week block.
“He’s played a lot of footy, he’s gone really well with his ability to play flat and on top of defences, He’s put a lot of focus on his general kicking game. His goal kicking has been excellent and he’s made big shifts there. I thought it was a pretty easy choice.
“It’s a great opportunity for Noah and he’s really excited about it obviously.
The way he’s prepared, we expect him to play well and be demanding of others around him. We have a number of young men, right across the squad, there a lot of guys who have played two or three Tests and are just starting to establish themselves at this level.”
Valetini’s Day
One of those is Rob Valetini who has been rewarded for an excellent season with the Brumbies with his first international start at blindside flanker.
“He’s been on fire and massive at training,” said Rennie. “He’s had a huge season at the Brumbies and we just ask him to keep doing what he’s doing – be really physical both sides of the ball. That impact will be important for us. He’s a really good mauler, the detail around his game has has been excellent, his work rate and work effort has improved massively since we had him in last year.
“That’s a real credit to him. He’s worked hard and he’s reaping the benefits.”
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images for Rugby Australia)
Why Gordon kept out Tate McDermott
“What Jake has over Tate is probably core skills, the quality of his kicking game and the quality of his distribution,”
“Jake’s a very good running half back as well, was outstanding against the Kiwi sides and did a great job leading the Waratahs.
“Tate, we know, is electric off the bench and that’s going to be important, especially against hopefully some tiring forwards.”
The To’omua- Paisami centres partnership
Melbourne Rebels leader Matt To’omua will start at inside centre, where he will reunite with Hunter Paisami at number 13.
“He’s had a little bit of time away with his injury he’s come back fresh and contributed really well,” said Rennie of To’omua. “He’s played 50-odd Tests and understands the importance of ‘voice’ from 12.
“It’s been great having him there. Hunter is versatile, can play 12 or 13, and we like him at 13, it’s a good combination for us.”
The young guns
Rennie has named four potential Wallabies debutants on the bench in a youthful squad.
“We talked a lot about the right to earn the jersey and all of those young men have performed really well in Super Rugby,” Rennie said.
“We know it’s going to be a lift in intensity but we’re not asking any more of them than what we’ve seen from them.
“They are now going to be playing with better players and hopefully that makes their debuts a little bit easier. There is a lot of excitement and pride that they’re going to wear the jersey for the first time, and we expect to see a response for that.”
One of the youngsters is Brumbies centre Lenny Ikitau, who said he felt he didn’t fit in when brought into the squad last year.
“The last nine or 10 months have been massive for Lenny,” said Rennie. “He really struggled in this environment, I guess with the demands of the training and so on.
“He learnt a lot through that. He’s gone away, worked really hard got a lot of opportunities at the Brumbies.
“He’s got an excellent skillset – great hands, great feet, good kicking game and so we’re going to ask more of him – more second touches more involvements – but he’s performed really well and has trained really well.”
Rating the Wallabies forward pack
Rennie was asked if this was an impressive pack for an Australian team in some years.
“We have a lot of guys who made big steps from last year and are going to get better again I reckon,” he said. “When we look from a scrummaging point of view, we think we have a really good scrum unit.”
Will they be ready?
“We’ve put a lot of detail into our game in camp,” Rennie said. “The first two weeks were massive. The last seven days we’ve had a lot of repetition and clarity to give us the opportunity to fire from the first whistle, that’s the expectation.”
Wallabies team for first Test vs France
1. James Slipper
2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa
3. Allan Alaalatoa
4. Matt Philip
5. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto
6. Rob Valetini
7. Michael Hooper (c)
8. Harry Wilson
9. Jake Gordon
10. Noah Lolesio
11. Marika Koroibete
12. Matt To’omua
13. Hunter Paisami
14. Tom Wright
15. Tom Banks
Replacements
16. Lachlan Lonergan*
17. Angus Bell
18. Taniela Tupou
19. Darcy Swain*
20. Isi Naisarani
21. Tate McDermott
22. Len Ikitau*
23. Andrew Kellaway*
*denotes uncapped